TILLSAMMANS - Tillsammans (Kompass, 1976)

 Swedish vocals
International relevance: **

Not to be confused with GregFitzPatrick's Handgjort offshoot of the same name, this seven-piece was a Christian outfit that featured Tomas Ernvik on bass and guitar. Suffering from several wimpy ballads, it still has a fair share of progressive and not-quite-symphonic folk rock moves. The playing is consistently good throughout (including some semi-heavy guitar) and the songwriting is above average, especially if you close your ears during the more overt, sugarcoated "Jesus is a nice bloke" songs. Oddly enough, I sense a wee bit of Paul McCartney and his mid 70's Wings here and there.

"Hela mitt liv" opens side B and has a slight renaissance air which nicely compliments the tasteful almost-folk harmonies. Tillsammans retain the faint folkishness on "Undran i vår tid" and on the mournful "Människor", the latter being the best track here. These three tracks help making the second side stronger than side 1.

Despite the reputation Tomas Ernvik earned through Vatten, the album can still be found fairly cheap. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch, often too much on the well-meaning side of things, but some nice guitar passages and a couple of listenable enough tracks, it's certainly better than the standard Swedish Xian albums that appeared in droves in the 70's.

"Hela mitt liv"
"Kom till mig"

SCALA-TEATERNS ENSEMBLE - Hår (Sonet, 1968)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: **

Originally an off-Broadway production in 1967, musical "Hair" eventually became a Broadway blockbuster, spawning multiple domestic versions in numerous countries of the free world. The Swedish staging was performed at the Scala theatre in Stockholm 1968, the very same year it moved to the proper Broadway stages (thus being the very first musical to make that particular move).

Appallingly subtitled "American Hippie-Yippie Love-In Musical", the musical backing was provided by Baby Grandmothers in their later Mecki Mark Men incarnation, although the album was technically credited to Scala-Teaterns Ensemble. The inclusion of Kenny Håkansson, Mecki Bodemark et al is the only thing to make this release historically interesting, but it has to be said that it's impossible to tell the identity of the band just by listening to the LP. While they conjure up some appropriate groove when needed, any fairly talented group of musicians could have achieved the same thing. The focus is on the singers, but the male and female vocals are maddening, with the female vocals being especially grating. After all, it is a musical, and musicals are an inherently grating abuse of music, like a watered-down version of the operetta which is a watered-down version of the opera which is annoying to begin with.

Those expecting anything along the lines of Baby Grandmothers' "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name" or the Jimi Hendrix impersonations of Mecki Mark Men are up for a major disappointment. "Hår" is just another provincial below average take on a silly musical parodying starry-eyed hippies. Which too was annoying to begin with...

The album was also released by Sonet in collaboration with shampoo and conditioner manufacturer Sunsilk (what else!) with a different sleeve (see below), also in 1968.

Full album playlist

GRUPPKORSBANDET - Hör och häpna (no label, 1976)

Swedish vocals

International relevance: *

The liner notes read:

This isn't an ordinary record. We're neither skilled nor commercial - you have to be that to get an album released by an established label. That's why we've made this record ourselves. /.../ We can't allow the music being taken over completely by a flock of professional musicians while the rest of us hardly dare play to ourselves, let alone to others. MUSIC BELONGS TO ALL OF US!

How cute. Too bad it's all progg baloney. It sounds just like something those nine members of Gruppkorsbandet had repeated like a mantra to get it right like a quote from Mao's little red book, probably in front of the mirror so that they could strike the perfect progg pose while parroting the tired old progg credo to any old person unlucky enough to be around to hear. It's all nonsense, because nobody stopped anyone from playing anything. Not even in the 70's.

Take a look at the cover. The typeface looks like something off an information brochure from the official Don't Have Fun Institute saying Eat Brown Rice And Be Boring. Look at the nine regular people and their regular people postures. Look at the dull, washed out greyness of it all. Take the record out, put it on. It sounds exactly like you'd expect from the yummy-yummy brown rice munchers with regular people postures pictured in forty shades of grey. Nothing wrong with regular people or brown rice or even the colour grey, but hey...

It's all acoustic folk styled songs with a typical political bent (needless to say, there's an Eisler/Brecht track, mandatory to albums like this). Several members sing simultaneously, Vietnam-solidarity-action-group-with-righteous-placards style. If you want to sing along yourself, a lyric sheet is included. Just yell away.

And, the final nail in the coffin of a stillborn album: a Fria Proteatern cover.

Music belongs to everybody. Fine and dandy, but please keep me out of this.

No links found.

DORIS - Did You Give The World Some Love Today Baby? (Odeon, 1970)

English vocals
International relevance: **

This album sometimes get lumped in with progg, but it's not really a progg album. "Did You Give the World Some Love Today Baby" may have been released in 1970, but it's still mid to late 60's sunlit pop with sprinkles of light groove and easy listening jazz. Doris Svensson is a fine singer with a distinctive voice with mildly rough edges that fits her style nicely, but progg it is not. Except with one spectacular exception: the eerie "You Never Come Closer". 

Hands down the standout track in this collection, it was featured on an British acid jazz comp in the 90's which brought new attention to the original Odeon album (which, of course, skyrocketed in value) and provoked the demand for a CD reissue in 1996, expanded with neglectable singles tracks by Doris's previous pop outfit Plums.

"You Never Come Closer" is a cool-beyond-belief track, later reworked by its composer and noted jazz pianist Bernt Egerbladh for the soundtrack to Swedish 70's television drama thriller series "Ärliga blå ögon" ("honest blue eyes"). Worth mentioning is that horror painter and sometime cover art designer Hans Arnold did the short but wonderful intro sequence of the series. The soundtrack recording was sung by James Hollingworth, released as a 45 in 1977, the same year the TV series became a mandatory watch to hoardes of Swedish viewers. (I've added a link to the intro at the end of this review for you to compare Doris original track to the reworked soundtrack variant.)

The title track of "Did You Give the World Some Love Today Baby" is a nice enough easy listening tinged pop track, but the next best tracks after "You Never Come Closer" are "Don't" and "Beatmaker", both utilizing a charming flower sprinkled groove in a mild funky fashion. But they never come closer to perfection than "You Never Come Closer" does...

A classic album for whatever reason, but still overrated to my ears. And not progg.

Full album playlist
Opening sequence to "Ärliga blå ögon"
James Hollingworth soundtrack 45

NEW CREATION - Sing Out My Soul (Hemmets Härold, 1970)

English vocals
International relevance: **

Little did I know that one day, a Pelle Karlsson album would get high up on my 'must hear' list.

Some background info:

Pelle Karlsson was an unbelievably popular Christian singer in Sweden in the mid 70's. His popularity reached far beyond the religious circuit when he had a smash hit of unexpected magnitude with his version of Elvis Presley's "There Goes My Everything", transformed into a song of religious praise and devotion as "Han är min sång och min glädje". In 1973 and the years to come, he was everywhere, doing television performances and getting frequent radio plays like any secular artist. The album sold in impressive amounts, but Karlsson was a reluctant star. As a matter of fact, he hesitated to even record it, thinking he should go all in as a pastor, preaching to his likeminded on the Pentecoastal Church scene. But fate -- or God if that's your inclination -- obviously had other plans for him.

Which means that now, as the era of Jesus music as we know it is long gone, you see his breakthrough album in every flea market and charity shop all over Sweden. There are in fact so many of them that you'd be honestly surprised if you walk into a junk shop with only five crappy albums on offer and Karlsson's album isn't one of them. This in turn has led to a peculiar cult among crate diggers with a particular sense of humour: When you find the album (lovingly nicknamed "Pelle's green one" due to the cover art's background colour) in a charity shop, front the album, i.e. put each copy you find in the very front of each record crate. Thus you can easily tell if a 'fronter' has been there before you.

There's even a short radio documentary (in Swedish) made about the album itself and the odd phenomenon it later initiated.

I doubt that very few people too young to have experienced Pellemania partaking in this tongue-in-cheek cult has even heard the album. And most of us who indeed are old enough usually try to ignore that we did. Not that Pelle Karlsson was a bad singer. True he wasn't the most pitch-perfect singer ever, and true his vibrato might be just a little bit over-developed, but he was in possession of a sonorous voice with a wee bit of Elvis in it. It's just that the whole thing has become a standing joke and, well, you just don't listen to his albums. That's 'albums', in plural, because he released several before retreating to congregational activities which is still his primary occupation.

So, Pelle Karlsson is not someone you put on your want list.

But -

As the third volume of compilation series "Who Will Buy These Wonderful Evils" was released in the mid 00's, "He Is There" by New Creation featured on the album rose to admiration. All for a good reason -- "He Is There" is simply one of the most impressive psych tracks to emerge out of Sweden, ever. I know for a fact that my jaw wasn't the only to drop with a loud 'thud' when I heard it for the first time. My jaw was seriously disjointed once I learnt that the singer in this obscure band was one Per-Olof "Pelle" Karlsson.

I've been on the hunt for the album from which it - "Sing Out My Soul" was taken from ever since. People have found it in charity shops for next to nothing, but I'm not one of them. It's kept eluding me, slowly turning into a fixation: I'VE GOT TO HEAR IT! I was expecting heaven (after all, chances were somehow good for that...) but was prepared to be disappointed (because most Christian albums are crap, especially if they're Swedish). No way the album as a whole could possibly match the stunning grandeur of the doomy organ-laced "He Is There" with a fuzz guitar solo to knock buildings into dust.

And so, thanks to a friend of this blog, the album finally came my way. The waiting was over. The kingdom of the Lord was at hand.

But let's be frank: "He Is There" is in a league of its own. No other track here comes even close in mood, intensity and characteristics. The second best track is "I Surrender All", with surges of wah wah and soulful vocals. It's also notable for its blatant theft from Pugh Rogefeldt's "Här kommer natten" released on Pugh's groundbreaking debut album "Ja dä ä dä" a year earlier -- check that guitar line at the end!

The remainder of "Sing Out My Soul" ranges from the passable to the s. Among the better of the lesser songs is the title track, a relaxed blues gospel with some more Elvis inspired singing from Karlsson to a nice laidback beat. "Amen" is the old familiar song popularized by Curtis Mayfield-led Impressions in the early 60's, here in a version with psychedelic aspirations but not as developed as it should have been to really make a memorable impression. "I Know A Place" is a heartfelt ballad that too could have pushed it further but is held back by the somewhat restrained group effort. "Calvary" in turn is a surprising Christianization of "Yesterday" (yes, The Beatles song) and counts among the LP's weaker tracks.

The whole album has an appealing garage-like sound and several good intentions but it's generally kept down by the unnecessarily cautious band supporting him. My overall impression is that "Sing Out My Soul" is a missed opportunity. It could have been so much better had it been a little bit more in your face. It's better than any of Karlsson's solo albums but it lacks the final push to make it great. If you find it cheap, it's worth a go for "He Is There" and the rather nice album cover, but don't expect too much of the rest.

New Creation had another album out on Prim Records in 1971, "Jerusalem", this time with Swedish lyrics, plus another one (also in Swedish) credited to Pelle Karlsson in 1972, "Till alla" on the Signatur imprint. The latter one is mostly remembered for the title track that features some comically unskilled sitar playing.

Full album playlist

THOMAS ALMQVIST - The Journey (Mistlur, 1980)

 Instrumental

Iinternational relevance: **

Thomas Almqvist's second solo effort is an altogether different beast to his debut "Nyanser" released a year earlier. Gone are (most of) the tranquil new age styled relaxation pieces for acoustic guitars, and in its place, more complex and fusion invoked workouts with a full band on several of the cuts. The title of the opening number "L.A. Exit" suggests the same studio gloss of L.A. Express's stockbroker fusion as the the music itself. While some tracks are still acoustic, they too reveal a change in aesthetics. Although I'd never listen to fusion unless I had this blog or was threatened by blunt force to my head (perhaps not even then), I can still distinguish good fusion from bad fusion, and this falls heavy in the latter category.

At least "Nyanser" had its qualities as unintrusive and faceless background music perfect for watering your plants or wiping the dust you've put of wiping off the shelves for far too long already, but this is just plain boring. 

Full album playlist

STARDUST INTERNATIONAL & TAYFUN - Stardust International & Tayfun (Hendrix Music Production, 1973)

English vocals, other languages
International relevance: *

I've been dilly-dallying forever whether to include this album here or not until finally deciding to go for it. After all, it has many enough credentials to at least put it in the fringe progg category, including trumpeter Jan Allan's affiliations with people like Hawkey Franzén, Merit Hemmingson et al, and session bassist Mike Watson who played on too many progg albums to even start counting.

Tayfun Karatekin had several singles released in his native Turkey when he arrived in Sweden to record this one, rare (highly sought-after by some) and lavishly produced album with touches of horn rock, funk, jazz, asphalt soul. First album by American lesbian rights band Isis sometimes leaps to mind. Tayfun himself is a powerful singer, with a rich baryton voice that at times has a striking resemblance to 60's Scott Walker. It must have been tempting to Tayfun to oversing with a distinctive and forceful voice like that, but thankfully he sticks to his guns and avoid going Tom Jones all over the music. I like his voice and I think it keeps the songs fresh even when the material itself is only so-so and the arrangements tend to become a bit bloated with brass, choir, and woodwinds. The strings on "It Didn't Do You Good", supplied by Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, works pretty well in this context though. There's also some really wild fuzz guitar unexpectedly bursting loose on "Mercedes Bus" and "I'll Never Find Another You".

I can't really recommend "Stardust International & Tayfun" to a progg fan, but I do think it has other qualities that comes through the bombast. It's definitely a product of its time, simply because they don't make albums like this anymore. Although I'm fully aware the album won't sit that well with a lot of readers of this blog, I'm also a sucker for good singers musical enough to hold a tune why I actually found it rather enjoyable.

Full album playlist

VAD TUSAN SOMHÄLST - Sista skriket (VTS, 1978)

 Swedish vocals
International relevance: *

A scarce private pressing but also one of very limited interest. The moody and primitive cover art and the basement fidelity might trigger one to believe this could be a bleak hard rock album, but anyone nurturing any such expectations will be painfully disappointed. Vad Tusan Somhälst came from Luleå just like Rekyl and Anton Svedbergs Swängjäng, and their songs have that certain matter-of-fact feel typical to bands hailing from the Northern Sweden. However, Vad Tusan Somhälst (a deliberately misspelt name meaning roughly "just whatever") suffered from underdeveloped songwriting skills often manifesting themselves in pseudo-cabaret styled songs that sounds clumsy and silly. But had the songs been any good, chances are that this five-piece would have messed them up anyway due to their lack of instrumental skills, as proven by the only track here showing some potential, "Bluesen i din kropp". Vad Tusan Somhälst sound like an underrehearsed school band without the charm.

I don't have much to say about "Sista skriket", it's simply a bad record with few if any redeeming qualities. It doesn't turn up that often, and I've really no idea how much the estimated value might be. Not that it matters, because if you pay for it all, you pay too much compared to what you actually get.

No links found.

MADS VINDING GROUP - Danish Design (Sonet, 1974)

Instrumental
International relevance: ***

 

It's albums like this that makes me question my vocation. Why do I do this? How far am I willing to go with this blog? Is it really just a karmic punishment for mistakingly killing a squirrel in a previous life by sitting on it thinking it was a small cushion? Am I a bad person? Is it only right that I suffer?

For a long time, I've put off writing about "Danish Design". Yeah, you've already figured out why. It's Danish. The title already says so.

Or so I tried to convince myself, ignoring the cold, hard facts. And they are as follows: The album is recorded in Sweden. It's produced by a Swede, Rune Öfwerman. Engineered by another Swede, Lasse Gustavsson. All musicians except Mads Vinding himself are Swedish (he's, you know, Danish). Sabu Martinez, percussion. Ola Brunkert, drums. Jan Schaffer, guitar. Keyboards, they're played by Kjell Öhman -- very Swedish. Released by Sonet Records? Ah yes, a Swedish label.

You see where this is going, don't you?

I can run, but I can't hide. It's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it. Tough shit it had to be me.

[insert inappropriate word referring to sexual intercourse]

Let's put it this way: This album is so boring, so relentlessly tedious that I consider playing Coste Apetrea's "Nyspolat" seven times in a row while breathing inside a very small plastic bag.

This is fusion at its worst. Soulless. Impotent. Clinical. There's more life in a lab grown bacterial culture than on this album.

I hate the album cover too.

Full album playlist

FUNCTION – Play It Maestro (Prim, 1979)

English vocals

International relevance: **

Function gets an A for ambition and execution, but they also score high on the 'so boring it hurts' scale. They were a Christian band on the Prim label, run by the Swedish Pentecostal Movement , and ”Play It Maestro” also had a U.S. release in 1982 on Lamb & Lion Productions. The music is of the most dreaded kind, inbetween AOR, prog rock and fusion. Competent for sure, but that's certainly not an end in itself. Whatever redeeming qualities the use of violin brings to the table, the cheesy jazz rock synths quickly pollutes them to a toxic degree. Vocalist Lars Ludwingson doesn't make it any better either, sounding just like you can expect from somebody having every bit of real soul crippled by a cocksure and annoyingly stubborn faith. A mind uniform that's too tight to let your head breathe properly with different ideas.

The only track even remotely agreeable here is "Unborn Child", but that would have been much better if performed by Pink Floyd. Mind you, I think Pink Floyd is the longest valium party that ever happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and happened and... So thinking they would do anything better is hardly a compliment.

Quite honestly, I can't see how even the most hardcore Christian could bear listening to these suffocatingly boring 43 minutes all through. Play it, maestro? No, please, don't.

Full album playlist (Spotify)

STEFAN MELLBERG – Pieces Of My Mind (SMR, 1978)

English vocals
International relevance: **

Late-to-the-party singer/songwriter Stefan Mellberg's only album, housed in a sleeve with a nice private pressing vibe. Unfortunately, the cover art writes cheques that the songs can't cash. While Mellberg is capable of a couple of decent tracks, i.e. ”Amelia – Where Is the Sun?” and ”Well, That's the Way” (the latter with a slight Leonard Cohen bent), most of ”Pieces of My Mind” is rather unengaging soft rock. On a couple of occassions, Mellberg tries to change the pace with a bit of jazz, reggae and good old rock'n'roll. It falls flat however, especially on album closer ”Dream Lover”, the particularly bad faux reggae track. The sound is quite good for a private release (SMR = Stefan Mellberg Records), and the otherwise unknown backing musicians are OK, but Mellberg's vocals have an frustrating, uninterested feel. Maybe he was struggling with the English language too much? Not that his efforts are very convincing... Mellberg's voice has a slight touch of Ola Håkansson's (of Ola & The Janglers) and I figure he had a musical taste firmly rooted in the 60's judging by the melodic traits.

It's certainly better than other more embarrasing examples of artistically bankrupt nobodies in the singer/songwriter vein, but 'not inept to the point of insulting' just isn't enough. It's not a very expensive album and it shouldn't be either. As a matter of fact, it's hardly even worth the $10 people usually ask for it.

Full album (Spotify)